I participated in my first run in 2010. What inspired me to join the run then was not because of myself but rather for my girl. My company organised a charity run and there is this category for 1.2km run for kids where parents can run together with them. I decided to join together with my elder girl who was 3+ years old then. I do not have much recall about that run as I was busy encouraging my gal to finish! To a 3+ years old girl, 1.2km is indeed long. But I am glad she still managed to finish the run with me!
Subsequently, I was attracted by Pink Run (5km) which was organised to raise fund for Breast Cancer Organisation. I got to admit that it was pink colour which attracted me in the first place. :P I managed to get 1 of my friend to run with me. I was very nervous for that first run as I do not really know what to expect and how long is actually 5km. I didn't really trained for it! That first 5km run was really tough as I had never run more than 2.4km in my life then! But nevertheless, my strong determination told myself I got to reach the finishing point. The first time of reaching the "finishing" point was just overwhelmed and extremely excited! I can never forget the feeling.
So from that day onwards, I was always on lookout for runs! I am also lucky that I have a friend who has been running for quite a while and she will alerted me to runs. However, although I enjoyed running marathons, I dislike training as I didn't have anyone who can run together with me. Besides, I have 2 young gals to take care after work and weekends, it is just impossible to find time to run! I tried to go gym or jog around the park near my place but I was not consistent.
However, the wonderful feeling of participating in marathons didn't stop me to run. So I continue in spite of lack of training and I finally participate in my first 10km run in April 2011. It was a very tough run as I wasn't at all prepared for it. But I was so glad that I completed that run. What more I received my first medal! (The medal is given to all runners who completed the run) The recovery after this run was a long one as my legs and body were aching. I knew it was due to my lack of training.
So I tried to go running at least once a week. I am very grateful to my husband who has been supportive and he helped to take care of my girls when I went for morning run every Sunday. I started to feel my body getting stronger and the timing for my runs also improved! In Dec 2011, I attempted my first 21km and completed it! I was so happy with my achievement!
After my 21km attempt, 10km was a much easier and smooth sailing path for me. By this time, I managed to find a running buddy at my workplace and we jog together every Monday at the sports complex near our office. For this year, I had participated 6 runs so far and I enjoyed each and every run. It gave me a great sense of achievement every time I cross the finishing point and received my medals.
My aim is to complete a 42km marathon one of these days. I'm not ready for it right now. Let give myself another year or so to achieve this.
If you like to start running for pleasure like me, here are some pointers from me. (Please note that this is not meant for expert runners. It is meant for people like me who just enjoyed running with no stress)
1) Start a shorter distance first. Never go into 42km straight! I got a friend who did and she never dare to run in marathons again.
2) You must have some training once a week. Accordingly to my friend who is an expert in running, it is actually best if you can clock in the distance you are running in a marathon per week. For example if you are running 21km, try to clock in 7km, 3 times a week. This is impossible for me as I only got time to train once a week for running. So I am not able to make very good improvement to my running time. But to me, it is fine since like I said I run for pleasure, not for competition or timing.
3) Running is a physical exercise which is rather straining to your body. It is best if you can compliment your running with some stretching exercise like yoga or pilates. I did and I feel much better than before when I just did running every week without any yoga or pilates. It is to prevent injury too as your body will be more flexible after stretching.
4) Just run your best and do not be affected by others. Running together with many people can motivated you to run much faster but do remember to listen to your body. Do not go beyond your limit. I still cannot forget how I saw a man who fainted during one of the runs and subsequently, it was reported in news that he had passed away. Very sad!
5) Find a buddy to share this interest with you Believe me, you will enjoy the run even more. :)
6) Wear comfortable attire and shoes for running. Even 5km is a long distance to for greenhorn runners. You will be thankful if you are comfortably clothed and wear the right shoes. Running Labs is a good place to seek advises for running products. There are experts around to advise you which shoes you should buy for your feet type.
Of course, we all knew to get better deals for sports shoes and such, we always got Queensway Shopping Centre. :)
Motivated to start?
These are the remaining 3 events I will participate in 2012. You can read more about them by using the link.
Nike We Run 10km
Great Eastern Women's Run 2012
Standard Chartered Marathon 2012
There are still many more! You can do a search online :)
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